IBM, Oracle end lawsuit over poaching executives

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - IBM Corp and Oracle Corp have agreed to end a cross-country legal battle over a 31-year IBM veteran that Oracle chief Larry Ellison hired away from his arch-rival in June.

IBM sued former Services General Manager Joanne Olsen in June, accusing her of violating a non-competition agreement that required her to wait a year before taking a job with a competitor.

Oracle responded with its own lawsuit against IBM in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Both sides have agreed to voluntarily dismiss the cases, according to court records, which typically signifies a settlement. Spokesmen for IBM and Oracle were unavailable.

The legal tussle underscored intensifying competition between the companies following Oracle’s $5.6 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January, which propelled the software maker into the server market.

Ellison has said he intends to overtake IBM in the servers and storage market.